If you’re like me, you’re always looking for ways to improve your game—whether that’s driving the Ball farther, escaping bunkers in one, or nailing your approach shot. Like most weekend golfers, we have weaknesses in our game we must address to upgrade our games.

Chances are good putting is one part of your game you’d like to improve. Doing so can make a big difference to your scores-especially if you want to break 80. But if you’re not putting well and you’ve tried every fix you’ve read about with no results, you might want to try changing your Stroke.

Simplify Your Putting Stroke

Instead of using your old stroke, try this at home:

•    Address a putt as you normally would. Then just before you start making your stroke, stand up a little taller and straighter. That’s right, stand up a little taller and straighter.

•    Dangle your arms and hands straight down from your shoulders.  Make sure you adjust your back angle so you’re comfortable and your hands meet the putter grip just under your shoulders.

•    Make some practice strokes. Let your arms, hands, and wrists swing the putter back and forth, like a pendulum. Try to get into a good rhythm. Continue to take practice strokes until you’re comfortable with the stroke.

•    Having gotten comfortable, set up a small cup or a soda bottle somewhere in your house about 15 feet away from a ball, then try to hit this target using your new putting stroke.

Keep practicing like this for about 15 minutes or so.  If it feels good, try it on the practice green s few times before trying on the course.

Minimize Wrist Action and Tension

One reason this approach works is that it minimizes wrist action. You can keep any wrist hinge to a minimum with this technique by using a little pressure. You don’t want to keep your wrists too tight, though. That creates tension.

Tension in your hands, arms, and wrists when putting spells disaster. Trying to control the small muscles, like those in your wrists, is much harder than controlling big muscles. If you tense up, it gets even harder.

In fact, don’t try to make your putter do anything. Just let your hands and arms hang loose and try to create a nice, smooth stroke. If the stroke feels good to you, you may want to consider adding to your game for a while to give it a good test. If it doesn’t work, you can always go back to your old stroke.

Golf Drills to Practice Your New Stroke

Below are three golf drills you can try with your new stroke. The first drill hones your accuracy:

•    Find a straight putt of about 10 feet or so. Place two ball markers halfway between the hole and your ball. Set them wide enough apart so you could just squeeze a ball through them. Your goal is putt the ball through the markers and in the hole.

Score half a point whenever you putt the ball through the markers and a whole point when you putt the ball through the marketers and into the hole. You can play this game with a friend. Hit a set number of putts. The player with the most points wins.

This second game—called Leapfrog—teaches distance control:

•    Put a ball marker on the practice green about 5 feet away on a gentle upslope or downslope. Putt to the marker. Try to stop the ball no more than 6 inches past the marker. Also, try to predict the outcome of the putt as soon as you hit it. Putt again with the goal of reaching the first ball and not going six inches beyond it. Try to predict the outcome. Keep going in this manner until you’ve used up all your golf balls

This third exercise improves speed control. It’s a drill you can do on any practice green:

•    Get seven or eight golf balls, your putter, and a tee. Now pick out a target on the practice green. You want the hole to be at least 30 feet from where you’re going to be putting. Now place a tee about five feet short of the hole.

Now go back and putt. Try to make the first putt stop just beyond the tee but short of the hole. Once you’ve done that, hit your second ball so that it goes beyond your first but still short of the hole.

Repeat the process until your putt comes up either short of the tee or beyond the hole. Your goal is to putt as many balls as you can between the tee and the hole.

Try these golf drills when at the practice green using your new stroke. When you’re comfortable it out on the course. The stroke can help you sink more putts, taking your putting to a whole new level.

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